Bean Gould: Pet Therapy Volunteer

Controversy surrounded her arrival into our family. The teen daughter’s friends had impulsively purchased this collie-shepherd-? mix from a roadside by the mall. So cute and sweet on her first visit to our house, I sensed even then we might have a future together.

Meanwhile, her infancy and toddler hood was mostly spent sleeping till noon, watching TV and chewing ice from a glass with her teen dad. To combat boredom she chose to systematically consume his bedroom carpet until his dad uttered the dreaded “going to the farm” threat. Of course we potential rescuers enter stage left at this point with the request that we try her out for the weekend. (We already had an aging sheltie and fostered a sibling’s corgi.)

By this time Bean (who at that point carried the nonfeminine name of a brewery) was a bland brown basic “plain Jane” dog whose primary trait was “mouthiness”. Her right ear never fully cartilaged leaving it permanently bent. She had not yet developed her wise black mask, beautifully mascaraed eyes or long curl- up tail. We did not realize her absolute sweet sensitivity or willingness to please. She was definitely “the omega dog” begging to be last.

To summarize the arrival…..the dad expected the visitor who came for the weekend to leave Sunday night, the daughter evaluated in her head that the weekend had gone well so the dog could stay and the mom, having fallen in love with the dog colluded with the daughter against the dad. (for which she asked forgiveness since she seldom misbehaved that way, but by that time the dad was so bonded to the dog he easily granted absolution.)

Being an intelligent dog, Bean learned that at our house she would chew only our pink carpet pad, replacing the carpet corner on top of the damage so it would take a while to discover it. In her early adolescence she was spayed but on that night she sneaked into a guest’s purse and ate a good supply of the birth controls inside. We kept explaining to her that she would no longer need them but had to use an emetic instead after calling poison control at midnight.

One season while the daughter took photography class, Bean’s star photogenic talent shined as she posed patiently in a bikini, as a cowboy complete with rope, boots, hat, shirt, hay and feed, as a boy scout, and as a tea party guest sporting faux yellow pearls and a spaghetti strap teal blue top.

Those doe eyes brought tears to mine as she came running to be crated so she would not knock over our only live Christmas tree in years while I was gone except that she was behind the tree and knocked it over in her eager desire to obey. As she observed me dressing for work she went voluntarily into her crate waiting for me to shut the door on my way out.

Bean was sort of a canine “Everyman”. At about 70 pounds with her collie/shepherd look she was easy for people to identify with when she assumed her job as pet therapist.
Frequently she would bring to mind someone’s favorite dog, easier when she was not an exact breed.

I was a psychotherapist who worked with nursing home residents for a while. Often Miss Bean accompanied me and she had many fans. As I talked with residents she would seem to be napping beside me but would elicit gentle groans in sympathy with the sad tones or complaints of ill and aging residents.

Bean and I joined the training program at our local Medical Center hospital which had a pet therapy program in its rehab center and also visited patients to brighten their stay. Bean was not the typical retired show dog. pet therapist. She just loved people and was a natural. She made no complaints about dressing up in somewhat embarrassing costumes. She behaved well with dog peers and in the hospital kept her nose where it belonged. Before a work day she was bathed and had her teeth brushed. She sat anxiously alert in the car, knowing she was going to work. She was exhausted the whole next day as she gave it her all.

One day we were part of a mall event where photos could be taken with the dogs. Actually Bean was Santa but found it difficult that the reindeer was a yorkie! What was fun, however, was our trip into the mall. A sunny day, I was wearing sunglasses. Bean had her short working leash and I suddenly noticed people stepping out of our way in the department store aisles while we traveled. It finally dawned on me that they thought I was blind and she was my seeing eye dog.

In the rehab setting Bean was a star retriever. She had a great sense of fairness. Returning with the tennis ball the patient had thrown she alternately returned it to the patient, the therapist and me. She wanted everyone to have a chance to participate!

Generally Miss Bean liked to have space between you so she could look into your face. On one occasion a very impaired withdrawn man seemed to let her know he wanted to hug her. She violated her usual boundaries and hugged gently into his face, licking his glasses so hard they had to be wiped dry. Another time a young boy communicated he wanted more of her than the front two paws on the perfunctory towel laid down for infection control. For a brief second they both smiled as I saw all four of her paws packed into the same small area. She must have levitated gently into that position.

At one point Bean had sore paws if she worked too hard. The vet gave permission for her to take a doggie pain pill before going on duty so the patients would not feel so sorry for her that they would not work comfortably with her. I wondered if that was considered a “performance-enhancing drug”? Oh, Miss Bean also took “Beano” at times to prevent doggie farts while on duty.

Dental cleaning was required of pet therapy dogs. The daughter worked at a vet clinic and arranged the procedure when she (and I) could both be there. We did not want her waking up alone from anesthesia. The solution……….I sat with her in a large back cage allowing her to be with someone familiar while recovering. All I recall is the voice of a huge great dane in the next cage and a fellow vet staff feeding me powdered sugar cookies through the bars.

On several occasions Miss Bean became my pet therapist. After major surgery she curled
her big warm body against my incision site and slept with me for days. As our family lost members, human and animal, she was there for comfort. One rescue dog came to live with us and Molly was frightened to come out from under the bed. Bean coaxed her out and taught her how to be a dog, how to run outside and bark freely. She adopted, cats, dogs, humans.

During a wake while family was waiting for the matriarch grandpa to pass on we were in an adjoining room. We heard a strange howl uttered. She knew the moment of the passing and announced it to us.

I have learned to be appreciative of gifts granted in unexpected packages.